The Jain Dharma is essentially spiritualistic (it is
related to the soul). It believes that the soul is immortal. Therefore, it
firmly believes in Purvajanma (transmigration of souls). The concept of an
earlier life and rebirth implies that as long as the soul is bound by
Karmas, it has to be assuming various Janmas- births and has to keep
wandering through Samsar- the cycle of birth and death which has four
directions.

Who taught the new born child to suck milk from its
mother's breast ? No one. On account of its memory of its earlier life, it
craves for its mother's milk. The child smiles and laughs; it weeps; it
experiences fear; what are all these things? These are but manifestations
of the memories of an earlier life. Even the happiness and unhappiness
that new- born children experience are but the memories of their earlier
lives manifesting themselves. Rebirth is but a transformation and
transmigration of the soul according to the Karmas that bind it. When a
man dies, the death occurs only to the body; his soul or the subtle body (Karman
Sharir and Tajjas Sharir) endeavours to take birth in some other form; in
some other place.

Any soul does not experience fully the fruits of all
its Karmas good or bad, in this Janma - life. Therefore it has to know and
experience the fruits in the next Janma and has to live it. The ideas of
Paralok the other world and Punarjanma - rebirth have been accepted even
by scientists firmly and with solid, valid, proofs and arguments. The
modern psychology has a branch called parapsychology which deals with this
subject. In India as well as in other countries, a very significant
research and enquiry has been carried out on this point; and some famous
scientists have accepted these theories openly and without any
reservation. The Jain Dharma calls the memories of the past lives by the
name Jatismaran Jnan. Even to-day hundreds of records are available
regarding the memories of the past lives of people; and some of them are
very famous.

George Bernard Shaw, the famous British dramatist, in
the course of a conversation with Shri Devadas Gandhi, the son of Mahatma
Gandhi, gave expression to his belief in Punarjanma - rebirth and to his
desire to be born in a Jain family in his next birth.